Why do we love watching scary movies? What is it about Halloween that gets our juices going?

“The obvious answer is that you know that what’s happening on the screen isn’t real. That knowledge starts in the visual cortex, an area at the back of the brain that processes what we see and helps link those images to personal and cultural events that put them in a context.” Says Andreas Keil, a professor of psychology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Experts believe that it’s not uncommon for individuals to push the envelope, seeing how much fear they can tolerate, and ultimately feeling a sense of satisfaction when they’re able to endure the anxiety.

“There’s a long history of people being intensely curious about the ‘dark side,’ and trying to make sense of it. Through movies, we’re able to see horror in front of our eyes, and some people are extremely fascinated by it. They’re interested in the unusual and the bizarre because they don’t understand it and it’s so different from our everyday lives.” Says Frank Farley, PhD, psychologist at Temple University.

Several studies have shown that males like scary films much more than females do – go figure.

“We can imagine the satisfaction of living without accountability, casting off humanity and turning into machines without morals. Zombies overcome death, vampires rule time, ghosts vanquish space and vampires and other shape-shifters transcend a stable identity.” Says Eric Wilson, English Professor at Wake Forest College.

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